March 12, 2020

The first building for the new Cascade downtown project leased up its apartments fast last year — but the second one broke a record.

“We are almost 60 percent leased,” Lloyd Cos. regional manager Drew O’Brien said Monday, the first day residents could move into the 69-loft building on North Main Avenue.

“By far, the most popular has been our one-bedroom. We had one cancel, and we re-rented it in less than two days.”

Building 720, or building “B” as it’s known, has a distinct look from the first phase, which opened last summer.

“We tried to mix raw and refined, and our inspiration was urban street art,” O’Brien said.

“We really wanted to separate the design of the 720 building versus the original one and give it its own unique feeling but still deliver something you can’t find anywhere else in Sioux Falls.”

The lobby leads to what he called “a neat transition space,” where residents can gather to play games and socialize.

There’s also a seating area for getting some laptop work done in the lobby.

Underground parking connects residents directly to the original building, which has multiple community spaces, without the need to walk outside.

There’s a wait list for one-bedroom lofts, and two-bedroom units are starting to go faster too, O’Brien said.

“A handful are facing the courtyard, and as soon as that’s complete, people will find the view is crazy more desirable, but it’s hard to visualize,” he said.

There also are a handful of two-story, two-bedroom lofts left.

“That leasing has matched up well with when homebuying and selling starts,” O’Brien said. “It’s a nice transition for people moving out of a house who want a loft.”

Throughout the building, street-inspired wall coverings vary by floor.

Lloyd also worked with neighboring Sioux Steel when the need arose for barn door-style doors on short notice in some of the apartments.

“We’ve been working with the family on our upcoming (downtown redevelopment) project, and they always mentioned they do more than grain bins. We figured challenge accepted,” O’Brien said.

“And between the timeline and the product delivered, I was blown away. We had a 10-minute meeting to go over the concept, two days later they had a prototype and we hung it to make sure everything worked, and then they said it had to be dipped and sealed, and the door showed up and they look like a marble counter.”

There are 11 custom-fabricated doors throughout the building, and O’Brien said he anticipates finding ways to continue working in similar ones in the upcoming Sioux Steel project, which will include about 100 apartments.

Next up for The Cascade is its courtyard, which is scheduled to start landscaping this month.

It includes a C-shaped outdoor pool, dining area, dog park and lots of green space.

“Worst-case scenario, you’ll be swimming by Memorial Day, but I anticipate the courtyard being usable before that,” O’Brien said.